Transition from IPL to World T20

While covering 37 days of non stop Twenty20 cricket during the hot months of April and May, I thought that the IPL has the most hectic schedule in the world. There was no breathing space between match days and we used to treasure the single header days as only single headers gave us some respite. Well, being paid to watch and comment on cricket has no parallel but then, 37 days on the trot? I always thought that the action in the IPL is pretty fast and it takes a lot to sit through 80 overs of cricket a day at a frenetic pace, even with the 7.5 minute long strategic time-out after 10 overs and a good 20 minute innings break.

The cooling period between the IPL and the T20 WC was as much essential for us as it was for the cricketers. All our commentators took to their methods of cooling off. Booze, bikes, babes, beaches et al. When I set off to warm up for the T20 WC, I was caught off guard. It looked like suddenly all my misconceptions were clearing up. Suddenly IPL seemed to be a lot less hectic. The pace at which the warm-up match went on, I was taken aback. I was consistently trailing by a ball or two. Initially, I thought that perhaps the cooling period has cooled me down a bit too much and my fingers will get accustomed with some exercise. But when things were not normal even after covering 8 overs, I was a bit worried. But I realized that there was nothing wrong with me when my dear friend Shirshendu was feeling the heat too.

Then it struck me, that perhaps it has got something to do with the match itself. Then it struck to me, that perhaps I should write something about this. Actually, the IPL, no matter how hectic it seems, is a slowish tournament. The general pace of the game, the goings on are not as quick as one associates Twenty20 cricket with. The proceedings are slightly relaxed. Add a 7.5 minute strategic time out to that and things become sluggish. However, this is the big stage, this is the biggest tournament Twenty20 cricket can think of. Here, there is a totally different sense of urgency amongst teams. They are always on their toes. The difference was gauged in the very first few overs of the Australia-Bangladesh warm up match. Overs were rattling through and cricket was played at a frenetic pace, the pace that is the USP of Twenty20 cricket. The fact that the Bangladeshi spinners bowl their overs very quickly may be one of the reasons why I felt so but then, I was covering the first 8 overs, only three of which were bowled by the spinners. If this was the pace for a warm up game, I wonder what will happen when the actual action begins on the 5th of this month!

Another reason why I feel that T20 WC will give a feeling of being more fast and furious than the IPL is the duration. While the IPL seemed to go on and on for over a month, the T20 WC will be all over in a span of 16-17 days. It is pretty obvious that we will feel that the tournament in general is pretty fast and action packed. And as far as the pace of the matches is concerned, well only time will say that whether my perception on Day 1 of the World Twenty 20 is correct or not. But one thing is for sure, the general feel that I got from the first day, makes me like the advertisement of the tournament like even more. The tag line, "Ab shuru hoga asli Twenty20" (The real Twenty20 begins now), seems to be perfectly accurate.

Having started cricket commentary at the age of 12 years and 275 days, Nishant Majithia is the Limca Record holder for being the Youngest Cricket Commentator and he has been a part of the Cricbuzz Commentary team since March, 2006.